Chastise Your Bratty, Spoiled, Entitled, and Selfish Kids

I do not love your kids.

That is, I’m not beholden to your little princesses and kings. As the school year approaches, and I go through the process of enrolling my own little princess into public school, I find myself more than a little afraid for her and her prospects. Children today are incorrigible. Okay, that may be a bit alarmist and harsh, but the numbers just do not lie. Our schools are sick and there seems to be no cure in sight.

Here in Norfolk, the public school system has a 73% on time graduation rate. Also, NPS has a 16% dropout rate. The problem is so bad among NPS high schools a Johns Hopkins University researcher referred to the district as a ‘dropout factory.’

So, why do I dare trust my little girl’s education to those whose best efforts are only getting 7 out of 10 freshmen to graduate on time? Well, economically I have little choice. Because of the disparate gulf between the haves and the have-nots in this country, private and home schooling are mirages on the horizon of possibilties…for now.

As desperate as all of this seems, I do have on quick fix. It is something that all of us parents can do: chastise your bratty, spoiled, entitled, and selfish kids. My girlfriend and I have spent countless hours and dollars to ensure our little one is headed to school with the proper knowledge necessary to ensure that she’s at least on grade level. More importantly, we have spent an even greater amount of time grooming her attitudes and behaviors so that she can function in society and in group settings. I just hope and pray that the parents that are sending the other 10-16 junior royals to her class had the diligence and foresight to do the same work.

The level and quality of the education that she may receive bothers us but not so much as her innocence being stripped away one tantrum and cuss word at a time. I can supplement and add to the education she receives; filling in the gaps with more enriching and challenging work, but I can not shield her mind and spirit from the onslaught of your child’s Ritalin rages and separations anxiety tantrums. I do not want her to think that this behavior is the norm.

I do not want her to have to have her lesson time truncated because her teachers have to chase down unruly children or change diapers or soothe criers. She’s been potty trained, knows what the words ‘sit down’ mean, and has not cried because mommy is absent for almost three years. She’s not a super kid possessing uncanny powers. She is , though, the product of steady, even, and sophisticated discipline and love.

So please if you have a child who is more used to time outs and counting to three before they conform to authority, take these next four weeks or so to be more HANDS ON with their discipline. I am not an advocate of spanking, but I’m not an opponent of the practice either Your embarrassed, sheepish ‘I’m sorry’ looks are not going to be enough. We are talking about my baby’s ability to grasp the knowledge that is provided her. We are talking about your lack of caring for your kids gnawing at the edges and fringes of the fabric of achievement that I and her mother are weaving for her. Give your kid a chance, because like the old proverb goes those who fail to put their foot down end up with kids who step on their toes. Give my daughter a chance. She deserves it just as much as your kid.